Character Profiles
by Gumi Reloaded
Summary: Here you will learn the backgrounds of the characters as they are portrayed in the stories posted on Gumi Reloaded.
1. Chapter 1 Hiko's Character History

**This is a Character History for Seijuro Hiko:**

Hiko was raised in a small community in the mountains. His father co-owned a tiny dojo with his best friend, where they taught kendo. His mom became extremely ill, and died when Hiko was very young. It was so long ago now, he barely remembers her. His dad home schooled him and taught him the sword, until he was killed in an accident at a tournament. It was just one of those random tragic events, and Hiko, at eight, was crushed. His father's friend adopted him, and continued his education, both academic and in kendo. Many years before settling down and opening the dojo, his uncle-who-was-not-his-uncle had had to learn to survive in adverse conditions, due to civil unrest. Not trusting the current peace, he passed these skills on to Hiko, just in case.

As a teenager, Hiko excelled in kendo, and soon surpassed his uncle. They trained, and argued, and laughed, and were as close as any family. Ever since he was small, Hiko had been drawn to the sword, just as he was drawn to clay. There were no potters in their community, but Hiko still found natural clay deposits and more often than not, their windowsills were decorated with hand built clay animals and small, lumpy bowls drying in the sun.

Finally, when he had exhausted his uncle's knowledge of swordsmanship, and grew frustrated with his lack of knowledge regarding clay, he eventually left home for the nearest city and another teacher. This time a production potter who was willing to take on an apprentice. Hiko continued to practice kendo, and his uncle, while disappointed to lose the opportunity to pass on the dojo for the time being, was pleased his son had found a promising job. His uncle felt there would always be time to pass on the dojo later. After all, Hiko had plans to return home, continue work at the dojo, and open his own studio.

These plans were never realized. A couple years into Hiko's apprenticeship, the peace his uncle had never trusted broke spectacularly with the advent of a civil war. Filled with idealism and knowing he had skills that could be of use, Hiko enlisted with his chosen side, and entered hell. At first, things weren't so bad. Conditions were harsh, but he made friends, people to celebrate successes with and who were there to patch each other up when things went wrong. However, his skills stood out, and Hiko was soon chosen for a 'special project.' The project involved a narcotic intended to enhance natural ability. Again, for a while, things went well. Hiko reveled in the strength and stamina the drug provided. There was a sense of pride in being able to do so much for his side.

The drug, however, was not without side-effects. Not the least of which was a growing dependence. What had first been a thrill, a feeling he could do anything, became a need. He couldn't function without it. Then he noticed men who had been chosen earlier, who had taken the drug longer than he had, and Hiko knew what his fate would be: Insanity, then death. Some of his comrades died from overdose, others from adverse effects within their bodies. Others still by their own leaders when the drug rendered them uncontrollable.

Accepting his own mortality and realizing his eventual fate, Hiko began to cut back. He knew better than to go cold turkey; he had seen how that ended up. It was a difficult thing to hide his condition from the project leaders, and more than once Hiko slid back into formed habits. His resolve was cemented, though, when he learned that the focus of the project had shifted. Children. Research had concluded that children were able to handle the effects better, and "lasted longer" than their adult counterparts. Unfortunately, the end result was the same. By the time Hiko learned about the project's new direction, their movement's leaders had already found out about the atrocities. The project was to be forcibly shut down, all subjects, all researchers, all research erased. There was no way the movement could take power with such a blemish to their record.

Hiko, once a golden boy within their movement, soon found himself seriously ill, disillusioned, and on a hit list. While he had managed to cut back on the drug, he was still dependent on it, a fact that simultaneously disgusted him and filled him with apprehension. What if he was never free of this drug? With the closing of the lab, his only source would be gone. Sickened by his own weakness, but driven by practicality, he made a final, ditch-effort to secure the formula for the drug he'd been given. He infiltrated the lab, and ran into a small red-haired boy, no more than eight or nine, who was clearly a subject, like Hiko. To this day, Hiko has no idea why he felt such a strong connection to the boy. All he knows is that he was aware of the connection the moment he saw him, and that it went far deeper than simply a shared experience. Hiko didn't bother to try to find an explanation. In a snap decision, he grabbed the boy, a handful of the narcotic that had ruined their lives, and ran.

Knowing that the boy was even more dependent on the drug than he was, Hiko kept the kid with him, to help him with his dependency. Over time, Hiko dealt with his own addiction, but suffers from flashbacks and a constant need that, if allowed to grow, can take up all his attention. Kenshin was never able to completely come off the drug. Hiko believes it has to do with being introduced at such a young age.

Hiko eventually managed to reverse engineer the narcotic. After much trial and error, he figured out a slightly different formula for the drug that was less damaging to the boy. He had never been so thankful for the chemistry skills he had gained while formulating glazes with his teacher. The reformulated drug was not the ideal, but it would have to do, and it seemed to help Kenshin stay grounded and relatively healthy. At that point, that was all Hiko cared about.

Hiko and Kenshin continued a nomadic lifestyle, always moving to stay hidden from the movement's clean up crew. They weren't the only ones to have escaped, and they took refuge in the fact that the movement stayed very busy trying to track so many. Over time, Hiko drew on his own experiences as a child, and treated Kenshin as his own. They shared an odd dynamic cemented by traumatic experience, but family is family. Hiko taught Kenshin kendo, and home schooled him as well. Hiko did not share his uncle's patience, and Kenshin was not a star student. His idiot's tendency to wander, both figuratively and literally, remained a bone of contention between them.

Years passed, and Kenshin eventually wandered away for good, taking the reformulated drug and a copy of its recipe with him. Given their precarious position, and how hard it had been to hide two people, Hiko understood why his son had left. Hiko often called Kenshin an idiot, even if he wasn't around to hear it, and quietly made his way to New Meiji.

Without a baka deshi to babysit, Hiko figured he had wandered long enough, and chose a life of relative anonymity in the huge city. Surrounded by millions of people, Hiko moved into a small storefront building with an upstairs apartment in a thriving, working-class neighborhood. There, he opened the pottery studio he'd always wanted. In the interest of holding onto some anonymity, he adopted the alias Kakunoshin Ni'itsu.

In addition to the occasional sale of his work, he supports himself by taking on students and maintaining a modest retail space that caters to the needs of other ceramic artists in the city. The back half of his building has a large storage space that opens to an alley. There is enough space to continue practicing kendo, as well as storing his kiln and stock for the retail space. The alley provides access to a flow of information from the world beneath the city that has proved invaluable to a man who is both a veteran and a refugee, and who has never stopped looking for his idiot son.

**Age:** early 40's

**Occupation:** Potter

**Family background:** Mother deceased, father co-owned a dojo, also deceased. Adopted by is father's best friend and co-owner of the dojo.

**Best and Worst memory:** Hiko's best memory is also is worst. When Kenshin became old enough, he mercilessly pestered Hiko to teach him how to drive. And so, once Kenshin had been deemed worthy of driving without killing them both, Hiko allowed him to split driving shifts when they traveled. In theory, this was a marvelous idea that allowed Hiko a little time to nap or just stare out the window while they ate up miles. Kenshin's first shift ended up being his last. Careening down a mountainside with the speed and precision gained from years of swordsmanship, Kenshin grinned like a loon while Hiko gripped the overhead handle with one hand and clutched the divider between the seats hard enough to leave cracked dents in the plastic. Even while he prayed to gods he didn't even believe in to spare his miserable existence, one look at the joyful grin on Kenshin's face, almost made everything they been through and sacrificed worthwhile. Almost. Afterward, as Hiko forbade Kenshin to ever get behind the wheel of any car he owned, and Kenshin snickered and needled him for weeks over the dents in the divider, Hiko never forgot the look of pure joy on Kenshin's face that day. Or the sheer terror, such as he had never known, as he willingly put his life in another's hands.

**Hobby:** Hiko doesn't have a hobby. Kendo and ceramics, two endeavors that most people consider hobbies, are Hiko's life. He wouldn't be who he is without either.

**Cell phone color:** Red. A very flamboyant, shiny red. Hiko also has a small, somewhat worn, Luck Cat cell phone charm that has dangled from every phone he's owned since taking up company with a certain idiot. It might have come out of one of those cheap vending machines that children love, and was possibly gifted to him by a particular red-haired child. But Hiko will never tell.

**Does Hiko watch TV?:** Not really. He has a TV, but never bothered with cable, and simply makes do with rabbit ears. He watches the news and picks apart the reports, discerning lies from truth, and generally being alternately amused or disgusted by how stories are spun to suit the needs of those in power. On the nights he can't sleep, which are more than he'd care to admit, he'll take in whatever late-night movie happens to be on. He has a particular fondness for noir films.


	2. Chapter 2 Tokio's Character History

**Character Profile – Gumi Reloaded – Takagi Tokio**

Tokio Takagi currently lives in New Meiji. She is single and dedicated to her job. She really doesn't have much time for a social life, and considering the state of the country, she has no desire to marry and start a family. There is no way that she would willing subject children to the depravity and violence of the current New Meiji society.

(Note: The historic Takagi Tokio was married to Fujita Goro, aka, Saitou Hajime, former third captain of the Shinsengumi and a Tokyo police officer in his later life. At the start of these stories Tokio and Hajime do not even know each other, however due to their respective occupations they do meet each other.)

Tokio's family hails from Aizu. Her father is an elected representative in the domain's governing body. Her older brother, Morinosuki is the lead prosecutor for the National Department of Justice, working out of the Yokohama office.

For the past 4 years, ever since she passed the bar exam, Tokio has worked under her brother's mentorship. Both of them share the same legal philosophy, put the criminal away for life and protect society's innocent.

These are dangerous times. Corruption is rampant. Honest government employees and elected officials are in constant danger from power hungry elements both inside and outside of the government. Tokio and her brother are fair and just in their dealings with others. Both want to see their country become a safe place where ordinary citizens won't be threatened and can live without fear of either their own government or the crime syndicates.

Tokio knows that because of her occupation, her life is in constant peril. Because of this, she has put her personal life aside, opting instead to dedicate herself to making Japan a safe place for people to live and raise their families. Although she knows that she will never have a husband or children of her own, she is satisfied in knowing that she will do all she can do, so that others will have those opportunities.

Morinosuke needed a trustworthy, low profile presence in the New Meiji branch of the Justice Department. He needed someone to be his 'eyes and ears' to keep an eye on what was going on and report back to him about any suspicious behavior that might lead to the person responsible for the corruption that he sensed was slowly permeating that office. Against his better judgment he let Tokio talk him into sending her there, regardless of the personal danger it could pose. He couldn't deny that she was probably the only person besides his father that he could completely trust to be loyal and honest.

Tokio moved to New Meiji from Yokohama about three weeks ago, taking vacation time to get settled into town. She just started her new job, as an assistant prosecutor at the New Meiji branch office of the Department of Justice a week ago. There was an opening due to the assassination of one of the former assistant prosecutors. Her official job is assistant prosecutor, because it won't draw undue attention to her, as the office has close to 10 people working in that capacity. Tokio is actually qualified to be a lead prosecutor but due to her mission for her brother, was placed in a position that will hopefully keep her under the radar of the corrupt elements of the DOJ.

**Name:** Tokio Takagi

**Age:** 28

**Occupation:** Assistant Prosecuting Attorney, New Meiji branch of the Department of Justice

**Family background:** Parents, older brother (Morinosuke) and younger sister (Tami). Born and raised in Aizu. Started out as a country girl before I hit the university in the big city.  
**Best memory:**Home in Aizu riding my horse through the countryside.

**Worst memory:** Can I just say, "bad hair day", and leave it at that? I'm sure all of the ladies out there will understand.

**Hobby:** Have to think about that one. If you'd have asked me this question fifteen years ago, I would have said 'boys', but I've smartened up about that over the years.

**Cell phone color:** a non descript gray, with a shiny silver band around the edge

**Do you watch media either by tv, phone, computer, or other device?** Yes. Anthing and everything about current events, all sides...liberal, conservative...it's part of my job to know the 'pulse' of the country. As far as 'recreational' watching, I prefer the classic movies with happy endings. Too much tragedy in the real world, so there is no way I would choose to watch something that ends badly. My favorite is Casablanca. She loves him, but for duty, she leaves him. Sighs...the story of my life.


	3. Chapter 3 Tsubames's Character History

**This is a Character History for Sanjou Tsubame.**

Tsubame grew up in the outlying area surrounding the city. Not exactly the suburbs, and not exactly a rural area, but somewhere in between. The city's shadow was always on the horizon, but the community where she was raised is far enough away that she has led a relatively sheltered life. Swimming in summer, biking to school, hanging out with her friends.

Her parents own a small liquor store. She grew up helping her dad make deliveries, and sometimes sat with him in their small bar cleaning glassware while their neighbors chatted and socialized. Her mom helped with the family business as well, but also taught math at the local middle school. Tsubame spent her entire seventh-grade year completely discomfited by the idea of learning pre-algebra from her mother.

The city is dangerous, but there is opportunity there, too. This fall, Tsubame moved to the city to attend college. Her school of choice isn't the top university in the area, but Tsubame is satisfied with a scholarship from the number two school rather than having to pay student loans for the rest of her natural life.

College has become a bittersweet endeavor. While she has her scholarship, rather than live on campus, she decided to get a job and rent an apartment. This was a decision that did not please her parents in the least. Tsubame is not unaware of her sheltered existence, and felt that there had to be a time to start living. In her mind, 'living' meant having an apartment, paying bills, and being independent. Her reality is a little different. An uncomfortable relationship with her disapproving, very worried parents, the need to prove that she can handle herself, a mind-numbing job that leaves less time than she'd like for studying, and a tiny studio apartment in an "eclectic" area. The building's owner has a way with words, and her idea of eclectic includes junkies and bars on the windows. In short, Tsubame is terrified. However, a need to prove that she can be a city-dweller, and the desire to live, even if it's scary, keeps her in the apartment, attending school, and making connections.

It is still early yet, given she's just started her college career, but Tsubame is considering studying history. She has always felt a strong connection to the past. Her parents laughingly say she's an old soul. Tsubame smiles and shrugs, but sometimes she wonders if there isn't some truth to her parents' teasing. When she reads about history, particularly the history of her own country, there are times when she gets the strangest sense that if it were possible, she could step into the past and blend right in. Sometimes, she meets other people who seem like they would be comfortable in the past, too. Tsubame doesn't know what it means, but feels driven to learn as much as she can. She isn't sure if it's academic curiosity or something far deeper, but the more she studies, the more she feels like she's searching for something. As scary as it can be living alone in a large city, her greatest fear is that her studies will be for nothing. That the unnamed something that drives her is just a figment of her imagination. She sincerely hopes this is not the case.

**Age:** 18

**Occupation:** Student

**Family Background:** Parents own a small liquor-delivery business in addition to a small local bar. Her mother is a middle-school math teacher.

**Best memory:** Tsubame's not sure if it's her best memory or not, but her dad's birthday several years back. She and her mom planned a party in the bar, and invited the whole neighborhood. There was music and a ridiculous amount of food. Her uncles and aunt even attended from the next town over. Looking around the room at everyone smiling and laughing made her heart swell to bursting. There was such warmth. Later that evening, her neighbor, a boy she'd grown up with, stole her first kiss. It was his first kiss, too, so Tsubame felt it was only fair to return the favor.

**Worst memory:** The conversation Tsubame had with her parents when she announced she was not going to live on campus. It was the first time she had ever truly gone against their wishes, and Tsubame is still dealing with the awkwardness. At the end of the conversation, when her parents realized she was completely serious, had already found a place and used her savings to secure a deposit, that she was planning on leaving a little ahead of the beginning of the school year to get settled, it was the resignation on their faces that bothered her the most.

**Hobby:** Tsubame likes to dig through junk shops. She's especially fond of finding old books, photo albums, letters, magazines, and newspapers. She is amazed by what people think to save. It's exciting to her to find such personal connections to the past.

**Cell phone color:** Blue

**Does Tsubame watch TV?:** Tsubame doesn't have a TV. She does, however, have her laptop and an internet connection "borrowed" from an unknown neighbor in her building who doesn't password-protect their wi-fi. Tsubame feels a little guilty borrowing the internet, but the need for an internet connection for school and the desire to watch tv online outweighs the guilt. She feels everyone needs a vice. This is hers. As for what she watches, she likes silly comedies, dramas and any kind of period piece.


	4. Chapter 4 Saitoh's Character History

**Saitoh Hajime – Character History**

Saitoh Hajime is a decorated military veteran and currently is a Captain with the New Meiji Metropolitan Police Department. He is also the father of two little boys. His wife, Shinoda Yaso, was murdered three years earlier when still unknown members of a criminal syndicate broke into their home while Saitoh was away on assignment.

Yaso had the presence of mind to hide her little boys, made them promise to keep quiet and then deliberately led the intruders away from where the boys were hiding. She was assaulted and tortured for information about the whereabouts and details of her husband (which she did not know because Saitoh never told her). Saitoh arrived home shortly before she passed away and she died in his arms. While Saitoh's devotion to his duty and the good of his country has never wavered, he struggled terribly in the aftermath of Yaso's death to the point that his sister, Katsu, took his children from the home and raised them rather than have them see their father descend into a violent abyss of alcoholism.

Had it not been for the support of his partner, Okita, Saitoh suspects he would have died of alcohol poisoning.

Saitoh has been sober for a little over a year, but knows that he is one swig of sake away from disaster, and is determined to win back the trust of his children. While he has them stay with his sister when he is away on missions, they have been living with him now for a year and he is doing his best to be a good father and provide them with the type of environment that they deserve. Considering that his domestic skills up to this point consists of flushing a toilet (but not putting the seat down) microwaving a frozen dinner and throwing away empty cigarette packs, he has his work cut out for him. He is determined however not to fail his family again.

Saitoh and Okita were able to track down one of the men, a high ranking syndicate member, who helped kill his wife. Due to improper procedure of an officer and press representative during the trial, a guilty man went free, leaving Saitoh with a decidedly unpleasant opinion of defense attorneys and members of the press.

Saitoh is committed to combating the further disintegration of society and to help restore the social contract between the governed and those who represent them. He is under no illusion that the current government is corrupt and that the most severe form of purification will likely need to occur for balance to be restored. As bad as the government is however, the growing power of the various crime syndicates must be stopped at all costs, for the good of Japan.

Saitoh firmly believes that this life is not the sum of human experience and has experienced very clear memories of being alive during the Meiji Era, nearly 200 years before. He has strong memories of Okita, Tokio and Kenshin, but other memories may surface as time passes.

**Name:** Saitoh Hajime

**Age:** 33

**Occupation:**

Captain, Third Tactical Squadron, New Meiji Metropolitan Police Department (Active)  
Captain, Japanese Defense Force (Tactical Squadron) Retired / Honorable Discharge

Family background: Saitoh was born in Kyoto, but moved with his family to New Meiji when he was five. His parents are deceased. He has an older sister, Katsu, (37), a brother in law who is a doctor (and who Saitoh suspects is the Buddha reincarnated to put up with his caustic sister) and two nieces and three nephews between the ages of 6-15)

After Yaso died, and Saitoh began drinking heavily and withdrawing from his family, Katsu took his children into her home and watched over them. She has a very strained relationship with her brother and if possible, is a meaner, more sarcastic version of her sibling. She is also a fantastic, ferociously protective mother and aunt and is the glue that has kept the Saitoh family together through such difficult times.

While not related by blood, some of the closest relationships in his life are with his co-workers, specifically, the following NPC's:

Commander Karen Watanabe (52) is his second in command for squadron 3 and a grizzled cyber cracker and devoted mother of four boys and two grandchildren. Having barely survived an assassination attempt, she has titanium implants in her jaw, a synth box where her vocal chords used to be and an optical implant. She secretly considers Saitoh her fifth son and after Okita disappeared, became his AA sponsor, a responsibility she takes very seriously.

Armory Master Arai Minato, (67) Saitoh met Minato during the war, when he was serving in the newly formed Japanese Army as member of a Special Ops Tactical Squad, who were infamously known as the Wolves of Mibu. Minato has watched Saitoh grow from being a hot tempered military recruit to a seasoned police officer and is one of only a few people still living who knows exactly what Saitoh's role was within the military squad.

Okita (MIA) Okita and Saitoh served together in the special forces and then upon receiving honorable discharges from the military, joined the New Meiji Metropolitan Police Department, where they rose in ranks and became squadron captains. Okita was Saitoh's best friend and in the aftermath of Yaso's death, helped keep his friend from killing himself via alcohol poisoning. Okita's whereabouts are currently unknown.

**Best memory:** When Saitoh was 10, he caught a pop fly ball at a New Meiji Samurai baseball game.

**Worst memory:** When Yaso was killed. This is an event that is not ever up for discussion.

**Hobby:** Saitoh practices Kendo and teaches classes through the NMPD. His true passion however, is baseball, specially New Meiji Samurai Baseball. He has season tickets for he and his family.

**Cellphone color:** Titanium (Military Issue, Encrypted with DNA Access Controls)

**Do you watch media either by tv, phone, computer,or other device?** Saitoh's preferred electronic device is a Titanium Tablet (Military Issue, Encrypted with DNA Access Controls) He gets most of his information this way, or via his phone. Being security minded, Saitoh does not have any personal information on any portable electronic device. He does have a TV and Laptop at home and an ash covered desktop at his office.


	5. Chapter 5 New Meiji History

**New Meiji History  
**

**2023-2025**

Rising tensions break out into a tense conflict in Japan. There are small skirmishes, rebellions or dissent depending on who you ask. The tension was resolved more or less peacefully, with only minor casualties.

**February 21st, 2025**

Due to the Kyoto Agreement, Tokyo and some of the surrounding prefectures merge and form New Meiji City.

**Feburary 21st, Holiday: New Meiji Day  
**  
**2037:**

A meteorite crashes somewhere near Siberia. Contained within it is a material never seen before. Scientists discovered that this material could store and conduct dark matter, which meant a near infinite supply of energy. However, even though dark matter is abundant, the material is not and contention began to grow through the world. Whoever had the energy had the power and there was great debate on who should hold that power.

**November 14th, 2040 Great War Begins**

**2040-2046: The Dark War/The Great War/ WWIII**

War broke out. Nearly every nation joined in this fight, though in the beginning it was a war between regional coalition forces. Asia, for example, formed the United Asia Coalition or the UAC. In terms of Japan, much of the fighting was done in or near China.

**April 5th, 2041**

Kenshin is recruited to join the Super Solider program and later the war. Sent to New Meiji Genetech Laboratory #1, Hunan Province, China

**March 2nd, 2044**

Super Soldier project scrapped, all information purged. Kenshin leaves the war.

**May 4th, 2046**

The Great War ends due to a disaster.

**May 4th, 2046: The Disaster**

Whether by accident or sabotage, the material holding the dark matter broke, sending what could be termed as a bomb, sweeping across Russia and the Baltics. Everything the dark matter touched, it disintegrated, leaving nothing but scoured rock. A large part of Western Russia, Ukraine, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Armenia are impacted .

**2046-2049: Reconstruction**

Shifting weather patterns and much infighting between broken coalitions lead to a brief period of chaos which was quickly cleaned up by various governmental forces. A new, albeit tenuous era of peace began.

**July 1st, 2050**

The first colonists landed on the moon


	6. Chapter 6 Yahiko's Character History

This is the character profile for Yahiko Moyjin in Gumi Reloaded.

Yahiko came from a semi-broken family. Father left, mother spent her days looking for the latest enhancement. Tae babysat him during those times. When his mom came home, she would be drugged up or otherwise not herself. She would turn to Yahiko and either verbally abuse him ("It's your fault your father left!") or not care for him ("You're not a baby anymore! Go take care of yourself!"). Even though Tae was a kind person to him, Yahiko wasn't happy. This unhappiness turned into a yearning to feel like he belonged somewhere.

One day, news of a growing syndicate reached the lonely, dirty streets he lived on. Even back then, they were considered to be a powerful gang with increasingly larger territories. Their reputation consisted of demanding respect through fear and intimidation...and sometimes violence. The gang (otherwise known as the Hokuryu Syndicate) was also considered highly resourceful. It was this gang that Yahiko's mom would deal with on occasion. Whenever she was looking for the latest drug, needed a pick me up, or something, she would be making deals with the gang. Unfortunately, sometimes the syndicate was not happy with any late payments she had. They would sometimes come to Yahiko's house looking for his mom. Yahiko would see, talk, and listen to these syndicate members. He saw how his mom did not argue with them. Whenever Yahiko brought up Hokuryu in a conversation, his mom wasn't happy.

On February 26th, one month and twelve days after his twelfth birthday, Yahiko walked out the front door of his house. He walked away from his troubled mom, his childhood, and went to find the Hokuryu Syndicate. After a grueling initiation that resembled a boot camp for soldiers, Yahiko was accepted. With knowledge of computers and the internet system of the city, and his fighting style, Yahiko quickly proved he was a cut above thug material. The years went by. The head of the Syndicate trusted Yahiko more and more. He became one of the most feared and respected members of the Syndicate. He had all the power and control he could want over the drug operations for the Hokuryu.

Then, on June 17th, Yahiko was offered to try the new drug enhancement that Hokuryu was creating. He knew the inner workings of the Syndicate. He knew what this drug could do. The drug enhancement known as STARS was something Nightfall (Yahiko's nickname in the Syndicate) didn't want to try. STARS would speed up cell recovery and promote heightened brain activity. The downside of the drug was terrible. A user would be left addicted. Hokuryu had a limited supply of the drug enhancement and was planning on controlling the populace with the enhancement. Before the news of STARS was released (through Hokuryu's information networks and out to the general public), many of the elite ranked of the Syndicate tried the drug. STARS was offered to Yahiko. For the first time, Yahiko said no. He never had drugs in the past as a member, and wasn't about to start now. This angered his fellow elite members. Yahiko knew he needed to escape if he wanted any chance of control over his life.

He ran away from the Syndicate HQ (where he worked and lived) three days later. Yahiko quickly found an apartment. Unfortunately, Hokuryu members found him a week later. Thankfully they didn't ask for him to return to HQ. To them, Yahiko was still a member. He just moved to someplace new. To this day Yahiko still deals with the drug operations of the Hokuryu. Since he moved out of HQ, however, he began to see the effect of drug enhancement on some of the Syndicate members. Many can't think straight. Others are quick to violence when they were known for their excellent persuasion skills.

Yahiko has tried to slowly escape the Hokuryu. He never stays in one place for too long, and is always hesitant about crowded places. Yahiko is still considered a member to everyone in the Syndicate. He still has connections the the head of Hokuryu. If only he could escape with his life...

That is starting to prove to be impossible. Surviving each day is the only thing Yahiko feels he can do now.


End file.
